go down the pan

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go down the pan (third-person singular simple present goes down the pan, present participle going down the pan, simple past went down the pan, past participle gone down the pan)

1. (euphemistic, idiomatic, Britain) Synonym of go down the toilet: to fail; to degenerate rapidly.

   The project would seriously go down the pan if Mrs. Foster weren't here to keep it on the straight and narrow.